#urgent action

[alwaysbewoke]

Sudan’s struggle is obscured by political upheavals, displacements, and hunger after the fall of President Omar al-Bashir and the 2021 coup, but why has the world turned a blind eye to the ‘forgotten war’?

#sudan crisis #forgotten war #political upheaval #displacement #hunger #omar al bashir #sudan 2021 coup #international neglect #humanitarian crisis #global awareness #conflict zone #world responsibility #peacebuilding #crisis ignored #media focus #human rights #sudanese people #global indifference #awareness gap #urgent action

[humanrightsupdates]

Urgent Action: GEORGIA SETS FIRST EXECUTION IN FOUR YEARS (USA 22.24)

Willie Pye is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on March 20, 2024. Now 58, he was sentenced to death for a murder committed in 1992 when he was 27. In 2021, federal judges overturned the death sentence because of the trial lawyer’s failure to investigate and present evidence of Pye’s significantly sub-average intellectual functioning and traumatic childhood. This decision was reversed on appeal, not on the merits but on procedural grounds under a 1996 federal law. His lawyers have presented evidence that he has intellectual disability, but under Georgia’s requirement to prove this ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’, his death sentence has been upheld.

TAKE ACTION:

Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.

Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 22.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

#human rights #amnesty international #urgent action #georgia #united states #death penalty

[worldmalariaday]

Major step in malaria prevention as three West African countries roll out vaccine.

In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countries—Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone—today launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.

Today’s launch brings to eight the number of countries on the continent to offer the malaria vaccine as part of the childhood immunization programmes, extending access to more comprehensive malaria prevention. Several of the more than 30 countries in the African region that have expressed interest in the vaccine are scheduled to roll it out in the next year through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as efforts continue to widen its deployment in the region in coordination with other prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention. 

Benin, which received 215 900 doses, has added the malaria vaccine to its Expanded Programme on Immunization. The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from around 5 months of age.

“The introduction of the malaria vaccine in the Expanded Programme on Immunization for our children is a major step forward in the fight against this scourge. I would like to reassure that the malaria vaccines are safe and effective and contribute to the protection of our children against this serious and fatal diseases,” said Prof Benjamin Hounkpatin, Minister of Health of Benin.

In Liberia, the vaccine was launched in the southern Rivercess County and will be rolled out afterwards in five other counties which have high malaria burden. At least 45 000 children are expected to benefit from the 112 000 doses of the available vaccine. 

"For far too long, malaria has stolen the laughter and dreams of our children. But today, with this vaccine and the unwavering commitment of our communities, healthcare workers and our partners, including GAVI, UNICEF and WHO, we break the chain. We have a powerful tool that will protect them from this devastating illness and related deaths, ensuring their right to health and a brighter future. Let's end malaria in Liberia and pave the way for a healthier, more just society," said Dr Louise Kpoto, Liberia’s Minister of Health.  

Two safe and effective vaccines — RTS,S and R21 — recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), are a breakthrough for child health and malaria control. A pilot malaria vaccine programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi reached over 2 million children from 2019 to 2023, showing a significant reduction in malaria illness and a 13% drop in overall child mortality and substantial reductions in hospitalizations. 

In Sierra Leone, the first doses were administered to children at a health centre in Western Area Rural where the authorities kicked off the rollout of 550 000 vaccine doses. The vaccine will then be delivered in health facilities nationwide. 

“With the new, safe and efficacious malaria vaccine, we now have an additional tool to fight this disease. In combination with insecticide-treated nets, effective diagnosis and treatment, and indoor spraying, no child should die from malaria infection,” said Dr Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone.

Malaria remains a huge health challenge in the African region, which is home to 11 countries that carry approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria. The region accounted for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of all malaria deaths in 2022, according to the World Malaria Report 2023.

“The African region is advancing in the rollout of the malaria vaccine – a game-changer in our fight against this deadly disease,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Working with our member states and partners, we’re supporting the ongoing efforts to save the lives of young children and lower the malaria burden in the region.” 

Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, noted: “Today we celebrate more children gaining access to a new lifesaving tool to fight one of Africa’s deadliest diseases. This introduction of malaria vaccines into routine programmes in Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone alongside other proven interventions will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems.”

Progress against malaria has stalled in these high-burden African countries since 2017 due to factors including climate change, humanitarian crises, low access to and insufficient quality of health services, gender-related barriers, biological threats such as insecticide and drug resistance and global economic crises. Fragile health systems and critical gaps in data and surveillance have compounded the challenge. 

To put malaria progress back on track, WHO recommends robust commitment to malaria responses at all levels, particularly in high-burden countries; greater domestic and international funding; science and data-driven malaria responses; urgent action on the health impacts of climate change; harnessing research and innovation; as well as strong partnerships for coordinated responses. WHO is also calling attention to addressing delays in malaria programme implementation. 

#malaria progress #malaria responses #domestic and international funding #science and data-driven #urgent action #world malaria day #25 april #world health organization (who) #health impacts of climate change #research and innovation #partnership #coordinated responses #malaria programme implementation #who afro #Life-saving vaccines #vaccines deployment #RTSS #R21

[to-dance-beneath-the-diamond-sky]

US folks, tomorrow (December 7, 2023) the senate is going to vote on sending $14.3 billion more in funding for Israel. (It’s a huge funding bill for “defense funding” for many things, but they also included more funding for ICE in the bill). Please take 2 minutes to use this action tool to call your reps and demand they vote no to more funding for Israel

And please share this action tool with 3 people you know. You can literally copy-paste this post to them if you don’t know what to say

#Signal boost #boost #please share #please reblog #urgent #gaza genocide #palestine #free palestine #free palestine 🇵🇸 #🇵🇸 #us politics #action tool #United States #gaza

[mousedetective]

^ GoFundMe

^ PayPal.me for mousedetective

^ Homeless Help Amazon Wishlist

--------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone wants to help, these are the main ways you can help! The GoFundMe is to collect money for various things we may need, but it doesn't pay directly (it takes 3 - 4 days for donations to hit my account).

The PayPal link sends money directly to me, so it's the best way to help immediately, like if we need food or gas.

This particular wishlist on Amazon is just things we need that can be sent to the address where we pick up our mail. There are a lot of gift cards on there that would be a huge help, plus other things we need.

(Also, while I don't have links to them, you can use Venmo and CashApp as well: my Venmo username is @penaltywaltz and my CashApp username is $afteriwake23)

#signal boost #mutual aid #direct action #crowdfunding #donations #please donate #please reblog #please share #please help #urgent #anything helps #gofundme #amazon wishlist #paypal #cash app #venmo

[bottombaron]

just me thinking abt the insidiousness of the Familiar Clinic

a place where every familiar is recommended to be put down

not because of any injury or disease

but because their vampire cared about them enough to take them there in the first place

#what we do in the shadows #wwdits #wwdits spoilers #wwdits s5 #THINK ABOUT IT #ITS NOT ABT THE FAMILIAR #ITS ABT THE VAMPIRE #'oh your familiar has a cold and you went out of your way to bring them here and wait in a waiting room with crappy magazines and sadness?' #'yeah you care too much abt this one. you've grown too attached. you're invested in its well being at the expense of your own comfort' #'the best course of action is to put them down' #have you ever been to urgent care??? its the WORST #have you ever had to take someone there #its somehow wORsErEr #like the Familiar Lore in this ep was wild they really do think so low of familiars bjt also attachment to them is so dangerous?? #just...fucking wild man #im never going to get over this episode

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlights where Phantom saves Duke or the Signal, and a week later (at a Wayne gala or some other place) Duke recognizes the light/aura coming from Danny

Putting off gala prep was perhaps not the best plan. Duke spent the past month insisting that everything is fine and he has it under control. Duke is also a lying liar who lies, and now he’s frantically trying to pick up his suit in time to get it dry cleaned and altered as necessary. 

Alfred would be disappointed in him, but in Duke’s defense, he had to go out of town on a mission to bust a growing drug cartel, and then spent half a week visiting a shelter for metas on the run (unofficial and hidden away) to help everyone find new homes and learn to control their powers. These things take time!

Unfortunately, gala prep also takes time, and since it’s a charity gala for funding the education of every Gothamite student, it’s not one he can slip out of. The entire family is being strong-armed into attending and not making a scene until the donation period in the first half is over. 

Duke knows he’s not the only one who’s scrambling to get ready for a gala that’s taking place in three days, but they’re not helping him, so it feels like he’s the only one messing up. 

“Sorry!” he calls behind him as he sprints through a group of people. 

He could have asked someone to drive him, but he knows they’re all busy and doesn’t want his own poor time management to cause problems for anyone else. Even though he’s sure Bruce is looking for an excuse to get out of a mandatory Wayne Enterprises board meeting that both Lucius and Tim dragged him to.

RIP Bruce. He will be missed.

The Diamond District is full of people walking the streets, sprinting between parked cars and waiting for their rides. They’re all dressed nicely, making him feel out of place. It’s a feeling that’s never left him since he joined the Waynes but it’s particularly bad when he’s left to navigate these spaces alone. Rich people and socialites are a different kind of human, one that Duke doesn’t care to understand; there’s greed in all of them, turning them heartless, and they can give as much as they want to charity but it won’t change the fact that all they do is a performance to make people like them, rather than a desire to do anything good. 

The sooner this is over, the better. He keeps going, hoping that he can still make it to his appointment with the tailor. Alfred recommended the store, then set up the appointment, so all Duke has to do is trust their judgment as they get him fitted. He’s still got twenty minutes until the scheduled time, but some unspoken rule makes it so he has to show up fifteen minutes early for better service or risk being turned away and told to reschedule. 

Duke slows to a walk when he catches sight of the store, the trying to catch his breath and look more composed before he reaches the door. He takes a moment to straighten his clothes a bit, then opens the door and steps in.

The bell jingles pleasantly above his head. The store is empty of any other customers, and the employee at the front counter looks up with a plastered on smile. 

“I’ll be with you in a moment!” she says, then looks down at her phone and types something out before placing it under the counter. A tablet comes out instead and she swipes through a few screens, then sets it down and look at Duke again. “How can I help you, sir?”

“I have an appointment? For a suit fitting. Under the name Thomas.”

She taps on the screen for a minute, then nods and gives him another customer service smile. “Alright, I’ll go ahead and grab the tailor. They’ll be out with your suit soon. Please, feel free to take a seat or browse some of our suits. We just recently got a new collection in from Italy.”

“Sure, thanks. I’ll just… be here, I guess.”

The employee takes her tablet and disappears through a door, leaving him alone in the store. He doesn’t want to sit down, not while his heart is still trying to settle from his sprint through half of Diamond District, so Duke wanders around the neat stacks of dress shirts and vests, pants and belts and shoes lined up neatly against the walls. 

He takes a moment to shoot Alfred a text that he’s at the tailor for his fitting appointment. Steph’s sent him a long string of videos online, and he’s just about to go through them when the bell rings again. 

Duke glances up and watches a guy walk into the store. He looks around, makes eye contact with Duke, then quickly looks down, taking a seat by the door.

Probably another upper class citizen uncomfortable with the fact that someone in jeans and a hoodie is shopping for suits. Shaking his head lightly, Duke wanders deeper into the store to get some distance between them so they could ignore each other more easily. It’s only until the tailor comes out, and then he can go to a fitting room and be done with this whole thing, so Duke resigns himself to suffering through the tense silence. 

How long is he even supposed to wait? He can only look at clothes in one of three colors before he gets bored. 

He goes to another rack, trying to see if he can notice anything different about these shirts. 

And then he hears a shoe scuff against the floor behind him. He tenses up, but before he can turn around, a belt is wound around his throat, pulling him back and choking him. 

Duke drops his weight, tucking his chin and gets a hand against the inside of the belt to try to push it away. His back hits someone’s chest and he’s trapped, focused on trying not to be choked to death while also keeping his vigilante abilities and meta powers secret. 

More footsteps come from behind, and a soaked cloth is pressed against his nose and mouth.

Chloroform, he realizes, familiar with the smell from Bruce’s training. But training isn’t enough to keep him from being knocked out, and he quickly slips away from the waking world, falling to the ground. 

Just before he passes out completely, he hears the employee who greeted him say, “I’m not sure how much Wayne would be willing to pay for him, but let’s start high and negotiate lower. New kid can’t possibly be worth that much…”

Duke wakes up groggily, memories of what happened quickly snapping into place. He’s too out of it still to get up, but he’s awake enough to be offended. Sure he’s the new kid, and barely even a Wayne, but he’s still worth a lot!

Kidnappers these days. So rude.

He doesn’t hear anyone around him, and it feels like he’s lying on a cold concrete floor. Basement, maybe? Warehouse? Storage unit tucked away somewhere? There’s nothing much to see when Duke is able to open his eyes, squinting bareilly at his surroundings. His arms are tied behind him, wrists bound, but they left his legs alone. 

If he could just hit the panic button on his bracelet…

Duke wiggles around, fighting through the lingering effects of Chloroform, and manages to sit up. If he strains his hearing, he thinks he can hear voices outside of the empty room he’s been left in. There’s a window high up, too high for a normal person to reach without help, but if he can use the shadows to travel through it, then he may be able to escape on his own. 

First things first: he needs to free his hands before anyone comes in to check on him.

They used zip ties on him, which is inconvenient. He’s learned how to get out of them, but it’s difficult enough without being drugged and having to do it behind his back. 

He’s feeling the zip ties bite into his wrists just as there’s a crash from outside the room. His kidnappers yell, alarmed, and are quickly silenced. That’s rarely ever a good sign. Duke renews his efforts to escape, ignore the pain in pushing against his binds like this. 

The door opens. Duke hears the small click of a lock disengaging and freezes. Then he gets to his feet, still unsteady, and prepares to ram his head into anyone who comes near him like some sort of deranged battering ram, or a drunk raging bull. 

Duke is ready for the worst: a gang hoping to steal away a Wayne hostage, a Rogue, Gnomon popping in to cause trouble for the sole purpose of getting on Duke’s nerve. 

He’s not expecting another teenage boy, who is literally glowing, to poke his head in and zero in on Duke. He blinks, then smiles; it’s friendly and sincere, nothing like the employee who helped kidnap him. 

“Hey!” he says, coming into the room properly. He’s floating a good foot off the ground, eyes a bright neon green, with white hair that sways as if he’s underwater. “Are you okay? I saw them drag you out of the back of the store and followed them, but I got a bit lost. Sorry for taking so long to get here.”

“...It’s fine?” Duke offers, trying to wrap his head around what’s happening. “I wasn’t expecting a rescue so soon, anyways. Think you can help me out here?”

“Yeah, of course!” he flies closer, then drops down to the ground behind Duke. He hums lightly under his breath, and then Duke feels a cold touch on his wrist and the zip ties are suddenly gone. 

Duke blinks, then brings his arms in front of him. He moves around a bit to make sure he’s not hallucination, and sure enough, he’s free and unbound because a random meta teenager vanished the zip ties into the ether, or something. 

“Thanks, man. Any idea where we are?”

“Not a clue. I got lost coming here, and I was following them. I don’t think you should trust any directions I give.”

“Fair enough,” Duke laughs. “I’m Duke, by the way.”

“Phantom.”

“Well, thanks for the save, Phantom. Can I treat you to something?”

“Like, coffee?”

“Sure. Or brunch, or ice cream. Whatever you want, really.”

Phantom considers it for a moment, then shakes his head. “Sorry, I would love to but going out in public looking like this,” he gestures to himself, “Is not a great idea. Thanks for the offer though. You got a ride?”

Duke pats his pockets, then sighs. “My phone’s gone. I still have my wallet, though.”

“I fly you to someplace you can call someone, if you’d like.”

“You sure? I could probably just walk out of here and call a taxi.”

“I don’t think walking around by yourself after being kidnapped is a great idea,” Phantom says, doubtfully. “Seriously, let me fly you.”

He should just hit the panic button and wait for someone to show up to get him. He shouldn’t go to some unknown location with a meta he literally just met. 

But, you know what? No one else can say they got kidnapped twice in one day, so Duke nods and says, “Sure, sweep me off my feet, Phantom. You gotta commit to this rescue.”

Phantom laughs. And then he does sweep Duke off his feet into a princess carry with a cheeky grin and flies them out the building, which turns out to be an abandoned apartment building slated for demolition. 

“Keep this up and you’ll be replacing Superman in no time,” Duke jokes.

“I think I could manage it,” Phantom replies thoughtfully. “I mean, I’m already prettier than him, don’t you think?”

“Oh, definitely. The glow really brings out your eyes.”

Phantom gets him a few blocks away when Duke recognizes where they are, and quickly directs him into Crime Alley. They land on top of one of Jason’s safe houses, and while he’s sure there’s enough security to take out a SWAT Team, that’s absolutely not going to stop him from breaking in to use one of Jason’s burner phones and eat his leftovers. 

He’s set down on his feet gently, and as soon as Phantom sees that he’s fine, able to walk and everything, he floats back up, just out of reach.

“Be careful, okay?” he says, getting ready to leave.

“I’ll do my best. Hey, are you gonna be in Gotham for a while, or…?”

Phantom gives him a tired smile. “Nah. I’m just passing through. As long as my luck doesn’t get even worse, then I should be out of here in a few days.”

“Shame,” Duke says, giving Phantom a very visible once over. He’s pretty tall, and Duke can see some muscle on him, and the tight black outfit really adds to his look. The glow that comes out of his chest makes him look ethereal and Duke is beyond glad that he got such a charming rescuer.

Phantom doesn’t blush like a normal person. He glows brighter instead, curling into himself a bit as he looks away, unable to stop the smile from growing on his face. 

“I guess,” he shrugs. “Are you really going to be alright from here?”

“Yeah, man, I have a friend who lives here. I’ll just bother him until he agrees to give me a ride.”

“Alright.” Phantom drifts away, glancing behind him before turning back to Duke. “I’ll get going then. Take care, Duke!”

Duke waves and watches as Phantom begins to fly away. Then Phantom… disappears? Or rather, his body does but Duke can see an orb of light making its way across Gotham, almost like a star fallen from the sky.

He stays on the roof until the light is long gone. When he’s finally ready to go in and steal from Jason, the sun has completely set. 

And he still doesn’t have his suit.

Duke sighs, and mentally prepares himself to other day of stressing out about the gala.

Three days of stress and last minute scrambling leave Duke in the Gotham Museum of Modern Art with Steph, Tim, Cass, and Damian. They’re hiding in the photography gallery to avoid other guests, taking a break from being polite and letting thinly veiled, passive aggressive insults slide over them.

.

.

.

“How much longer must we suffer this before we can go?” Damian grumbles, looking like he’s do anything to get his hands on a blade. Which, considering how many people tried to either pinch his cheeks are say some racist remark about him and his mother, is totally fair. Duke would just punch them, but sometimes a little drama helped get the message across. 

“At least two more hours,” Tim says, not bothering to look up from his phone. From what few glimpses of the screen Duke caught, he’s leading a Titans missions through text and clever hacking. Though it may be more accurate to call is a Young Justice mission since there’s no way any of this was authorized by a Justice League member. 

Also Anita, suited up as Empress, is there. If they aren’t on the news for property destruction and absolutely batshit wild shenanigans, Duke will have to check on Tim to make sure he’s not a pod person sent to infiltrate the family. 

“Think we can sneak out without anyone noticing?” Steph asks, looking at the emergency exit longingly.

Cass shakes her head and points to the door leading to the ballroom. When they look over, Dick makes very deliberate eye contact with them and give them a smile that looks stretched across his face.

Tim winces and pushes Duke. “Oh, something went down. Go take over for him and let Dick rest in here for a bit.”

“Man, why does it have to be me?” he grumbles even as he stands. Dick lets out a heavy breath and gives Duke a grateful smile, patting on the shoulder before shoving him out the door. 

As soon as he’s back into the main hallway, the music and chatter swell, no longer muffled by the thick walls of the photography wing. A few people come and go from the ballroom, no doubt looking for the restroom. 

Or more private places for… other things. Things they definitely shouldn’t be doing in an art museum.

He really can’t wait for this night to be over.

Duke joins the rest of the guests, fake smile on his face, and quickly makes his way to the snack table. He might as well make the most of his time stuck out here. Maybe he could even cause another relationship scandal by implying that Bruce is sleeping with one of partners when in hearing distance of a couple. Maybe even both of them. 

Bruce would go with it. It’s hilarious and he also needs something to make these events bearable.

Sadly, he doesn’t see any good targets as he scans the ballroom. A few people are dancing, while others are talking in small circles, closed off from outsiders. There’s an entire table of old ladies with glasses of wine in front of them; Duke considers hanging around them, since they confess to a lot of crimes after a few glasses. It’s fascinating. 

Also, he does kind of miss hanging out with the one old lady who’s declared herself his high society grandmother and told him stories of how she used to go to bars to find racist people or Klan members during the Jim Crow era, seduce them, then poison them and get their addresses so a few gangs she was friends with would fuck them up.

Granny Kaliasto is the coolest person ever. 

Just as he’s about to finish his last mini rolled crepe, Duke catches sight of one of the few teenagers still in the ballroom. The others, mostly stuck up rich kids no one actually likes, have already left to take over some other part of the museum to gossip until their parents decide it’s time to go home. These two are clearly not part of that crew, what with the girl being very goth and in a poofy, ripped dress, and the boy having already taken his jacket off to keep over his forearm, the top button of his shirt popped open.

They might be cool. He’s hoping they’re cool because he desperately needs some company to keep from dying of boredom while the gala continues on.

Duke walks over to them, going around the side of the ballroom, until he’s close enough to hear them talking.

The boy has his back to Duke, but the girl sees him. She immediately scowls and slaps the boys shoulder, eyes locked on Duke.

“Got another comment about my dress?” she says, voice sharp and acidic.

“Another?” Duke repeats. “I was just bored and wanted to talk to people who were my age. Sorry?”

The boy smacks the girl’s arm, then turns to face Duke. “Sorry about her! Sam is just naturally rude and aggressive. Tonight’s been a bit rough, with this crowd.”

Duke goes to say something, but the words stick in his throat when he sees the boy’s eyes shift from deep blue to an electric green. When he focuses, he can see a faint glow in his chest, the same glow he saw in Phantom.

“Dude? You alright?”

Sam looks him over judgmentally. “I guess it’s nice that I’m not being ogled for once, but don’t do that shit to Danny either.”

“Wait, that’s not what I was doing!” Duke hurries to say, snapped out of his shock. “I just… you look a lot like someone I met recently.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. What was your name? I’m Duke, by the way.”

He holds out a hand, and the boy shakes it with a small smile. “Danny. I don’t think we’ve met. I mean, I’m only here because Sam wouldn’t come to this gala without me, so her parents flew me in.”

“You from out of town?”

“Sam and I are from Illinois. Her parents are traveling around the east coast right now, and they decided to spend a week in Gotham to talk business.”

“I’d ask how it is, but outsiders tend to really hate Gotham, so…”

Sam barks out a sharp laugh. “Oh please, we can handle Gotham. Our town might not be as big and well known as Gotham, but we got our own shit to deal with there.”

“I do get shot at a lot back home,” Danny adds thoughtfully. “And that’s without the ghosts.”

“Woah, what?”

“Up for a bit of a story?” Danny asks, impish grin on his face. By his side, Sam brings a hand up to cover a manic smile, shoulders already shaking with laughter. 

This is already better than the grandma gang. Duke leans against the wall, getting settled in, and says, “Always, man. Hit me with it.”

The next hour an a half passes quickly with Sam and Danny dramatically narrating some of the things that have happened in their town. Duke listens, absolutely enraptured, and doesn’t even notice the Waynes file into the ballroom again. 

Unfortunately, they bring with them the attention of most of the ballroom, including Bruce and Sam’s parents. 

She cuts the current story about Box Ghost short with a heavy sigh. “Hold up, I need to greet the Waynes properly while my parents are watching.” She steps in front of Duke and Danny, holding out a hand with a pained smile.

Tim takes it first, giving a solid shake, and introductions start. 

Free from the rules of high society, if only for the moment, Duke leans closer to Danny and whispers to him, “Phantom. Wanna get out of here?”

Danny flinches and turns to him looking panicked. “How did you know?”

“I kinda got magic eyes. I see a lot of things normal humans can’t. Don’t worry about it. I still owe you, so you wanna get out of here?”

He watches as Danny glances around the ballroom, then back to him, clearly weighing out his options. Then he nods and says, “Know where to get a good milkshake around here?”

“Sure do.”

“I guess you’re the one rescuing me this time.”

“Not a rescue,” Duke corrects, and casually picks Danny up over his shoulder into a fireman’s carry, “A kidnapping.”

Danny laughs and waves Sam and all the others goodbye as Duke marches out of the ballroom.

“Don’t bother me for the next two hours!” he calls to the Waynes, “I’m going on a date!”

There are shocked gasps and murmurs all through the crowd. But as he spins around to wave at his shocked and easily amused family, he also catches sight of Granny Kaliasto raising her half full wine glass towards him.

She really is the coolest.

He’s definitely telling her all about this at the next event they attend together. It’ll be nice to have a few stories of his own to share.

#ghostlights #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #prompt fill #my writing #theyre just so casual in this fic #duke gets kidnaps. nbd tbh. saved by a glowing flying guy. nbd. duke clocks dannys identity instantly. nbd. #theyre just chilling. no time to freak out they on a mission to get milkshakes!! #sam is cackling once they leave and people start trying to figure out who they were and how audacious they were in leaving like that #lots of people ask bruce abt duke and his actions. the other siblings are trying so hard to get info abt danny from sam but shes not cracki #dick asks jason to follow them and get info bc this milkshake date is now an urgent mission. jason blocks him. #damian and sam do bond over animal rights and environmentalism later tho. they just share protesting tips and best ways to cause a scene #once again peppering in ocs bc i love making ocs #(<-says the girl literally writing an original superhero novel bc she cant stop making ocs. as if this is news to anyone) #thanks for the prompt!!!

[stardustmuseum]

‼️URGENT‼️

Everyone in the US, please call congress right now. I’ll leave the info and a script below. Customize your message however you want.

And please share this everywhere. We need to help Gaza immediately.

If you don't know what to say, you can use this.

“My name is _____.

I am a constituent of _____.

First, I would like to let you know that my future vote and donation will depend on your action in this matter.

We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel is committing a genocide, and we will not stand for this.

Call for a ceasefire, allow the necessary humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and end all US complicity in Israel’s violence.

Thank you.”

#gaza #palestine #free palestine #save gaza #call to action #urgent

[resistancecommittee]

please im begging this is incredibly urgent. the people that have allowed us to stay for the last two nights put my wife through an incredibly traumatic experience and she’s scared to leave the room without me to get food or even go to the bathroom and we have to keep the door locked at all times. we really need help right now, we have a plan but nothing that can happen for another week. please anything to help us get by we have no money and are trapped.

c4$happ: goldenratio1123 or melancholicore

p4ypal: iwannadaisuki or poppybun

v3nmo: iwannadaisuki

im so sorry to ask for help again but this is an extremely volatile environment and its incredibly important we find a way out of here and survive until we can make that happen as our lives have been threatened multiple times.

#urgent #very urgent #mutual aid #financial aid #solidarity #direct action #donations #signal boost #aid #signal b00st #d0nations #still relevant #solidarity forever #financial assistance #disabled #chronically ill #marxism #leftism

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

the good news ~

As rents for even a studio apartment in my area have skyrocketed in the past year plus, I've had to shift my search for a permanent place to live to renting a single room. Fortunately, one of my long-time customers (almost ten years) rents a room from a pretty good landlord, here in my hometown. His wife and kids are in Mexico, but he finally got notice from Immigration that she's been granted permission to join him in the States (he's a US citizen). So he has to start looking for an apartment for when she (and their children, who are all college age) finally move here. Which means his room is going to be available in 3-6 months time, and he can put in a great recommendation for me, which should work in my favor against my very poor credit. Great news, and some true hope on the horizon.

in the meantime, I'm broke until 11/22 ~

I'm still left with trying to get a room at a local motel at a weekly rate. My budget has been quite tight the past couple of months, but I've managed fairly well. And right now I have a room paid up through Saturday night (11/11). However, I have to pay two years motor vehicle tax (being homeless last year, I honestly lost track of it because I have nowhere to receive mail) and my car registration out of this week's paycheck. So, starting Sunday, I'm going to either have to sleep in my car (and the nights are down in the 30's now) and/or sleep in the breakroom where I work. As much as I don't want to ask yet again after the generosity that saved me from losing my belongings to auction, I have to give it a try. So I'm just putting this out there, and any bit of help that people can manage will be deeply appreciated. Thank you in advance for any help or signal boosts that people can manage!

my ko-fi

@mousedetective @strangelock221b

#homelessness #relying on the kindness of friends & strangers #tw: homelessness #urgent #urgent need #emergency #direct action #mutual aid #financial aid #ko fi link #ko-fi link #ko fi support #ko-fi support #anything helps #crowdfunding #community aid

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

🚨URGENT GAZA UPDATE 🚨

🚨Israel has announced plans to ethnically cleanse 1.5 million Palestinians out of Gaza

🚨This has been their plan all along and the Biden administration has been in support financially and diplomatically

🚨Take action more than you ever have by plugging into your local action, posting on social media and clicking in our linktree for an action toolkit to contact your reps and demand an end to this now!

Action guide on @protectpalestineorg

Action toolkit in the bio of @adalahjusticeproject and @uscpr

#human rights #palestine #free palestine #Gaza #gaza genocide #rafah crossing #rafah #israel #israel is committing genocide #israeli war crimes #israel is a terrorist state #call your reps #us politics #signal boost #urgent #action item #save gaza #ceasefire now #ceasefire #stop the genocide #stop the occupation #stop israel #us government #us senate #us congress

[humanrightsupdates]

Iranian Kurdish man Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei is at risk of execution in relation to the September to December 2022 nationwide protests in Iran. Following a grossly unfair trial, on 7 October 2023, Branch Two of Criminal Court 1 of Kermanshah province convicted him of “murder” and sentenced him to death, admitting his torture-tainted forced “confessions” as “evidence”.

From September to December 2022, an unprecedented popular uprising against the Islamic Republic system took place across Iran sparked by the death in custody on 16 September 2022 of Zhina/Mahsa Amini days after her arbitrary arrest by Iran’s “morality” police. Iranian authorities extensively and unlawfully fired live ammunition, metal pellets and tear gas and subjected protesters to severe beatings.

Hundreds of protesters and bystanders were unlawfully killed by security forces, including dozens of children, and thousands sustained injuries for which many did not seek medical care due to fear of arrest. More than half of those killed belonged to the oppressed Baluchi minority in Sistan and Baluchestan province and the Kurdish minority in the provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah and West Azerbaijan.

From early November 2022, Kurdish human rights groups reported a “highly securitized atmosphere” in Kermanshah province marked by the extensive deployment of security forces. This development underscored the authorities’ increased repression in anticipation of protests between 15-19 November 2022 to commemorate the protest killings of November 2019.

To date, the authorities have arbitrarily executed seven men in connection with the “Woman Life Freedom” protests after grossly unfair trials marred by torture allegations.

On 19 May 2023, Iranian authorities executed Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, who were put on trial in December 2022 and January 2023, and sentenced to death on the vaguely worded and overly broad charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh). The authorities imposed the charge based on unfounded allegations stemming from torture-tainted “confessions” that the men used firearms in an incident during protests during which three members of the security forces died. However, they did not charge them or convict them of murder for these deaths. On 10 May 2023, the authorities announced that their convictions and sentences had been upheld by the Supreme Court despite due process violations, significant procedural flaws, lack of evidence, and torture allegations that were never investigated.

Amnesty International obtained information that the three were subjected to torture while forcibly disappeared and forced to make incriminating statements.

Take action now

#amnesty international #human rights #urgent action #iran

[last-sprout]

How big are the domes? How much water is there that one could sink?

Oh, I assume you’re following up from this question here. they’re big - very big. Again, not sure where you are that you don’t know this stuff haha! And a lot of water - wait I can pull up a map for you

Those blue circles are the domes - you can see why they’d need such constant repair.

Ah, of course, something is acting up outside. I’ll be AWOL for a little bit while I get this fixed. Hopefully I can get it done before this next storm blows in - wish me luck!

#13:46 15TH DEC #EXTERNAL CONDITION: WIND SPEED INCREASING (CAUTION) #INTERNAL CONDITION: AIR FILTRATION UNIT 2 OFFLINE URGENT ACTION REQUIRED #C:BIO/SPROUT/LOGIN/GREEN_THUMB/INBOX[GENERAL]

[rennybu]

There’ve been student strikes and walkouts and I believe an ongoing hunger strike for Palestine at universities in my city too (from march and earlier) and I really fucking hope the student organizing happening in the US right now helps bolster the effort here. One of the smaller colleges here divested but the biggest one has been refusing to listen to student demands and I simply cannot help but hope !

#if u aren’t already following ur local actions Now Is A Great Time #find out how you can help divestment movements in your city #I’m not a student but follow their efforts some protests are called urgently and some are planned days in advance #and often go hand in hand with other disruption actions

[to-dance-beneath-the-diamond-sky]

US folks, please take literally 30 seconds to send an email to your reps demanding they immediately stop sending money to Israel.

Link here: https://act.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/a/no-more-weapons-israel-c2e

Also please use this tool (also takes literally 30 seconds) to demand your reps reinstate funding to UNWRA. UNWRA funding will run out in less than two weeks. This is SUPER SUPER URGENT!!!

Link here: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/tell-congress-demand-biden-reinstate-unrwa-funding/ 

Please also send these tools to 3 other people off of tumblr!

If you don't live in the US, please reblog anyways and share with anyone you know who does live in the US

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

#Free Palestine #us politics #urgent #signal boost #palestine #free gaza #gaza #gaza genocide #genocide joe #action #action tool #please reblog #please share #boost #JVP #jewish voice for peace #free palestine 🇵🇸 #🇵🇸 #UNWRA

[mousedetective]

So I can't edit this to show what it is exactly, but I basically just got shamed by a Facebook "friend" for offering to share this link to get laundry supplies for my birthday. So now I'm miserable and that wasn't what I'd wanted to happen at all.

So if anyone would like to cheer me up, this is my family's Homeless Supplies list. I need as much of the laundry and disinfectant stuff as I can get. Clothes for me (or even my mom, because she still needs pants) would be a huge help, as I lost 40 pounds last year and most of my stuff is too big or it's full of holes. Food is much appreciated by all three of us.

Can't help? Reblog. Don't care/don't want to help? Don't be an asshole about it. Just ignore me or block me or whatever. But I am thankful to everyone who has helped, everyone who continues to help us, and everyone who is inspired to help. It's basically a waiting game with disability at this point for us to get housing, so all I can do is wait and hope.

But yeah. If you can help, or even just reblog, it would remind me there are good people in the world, and I sorely need that as much as I need anything on the list.

#signal boost #mutual aid #mutual aid request #urgent #direct action #community aid #amazon wishlist #please boost #please reblog #please share #please help #anything helps #help needed #donations #homeless support #groceries #laundry detergent #clothing